Ohne Dich
by Kag-Inu4E
Summary: Pogue had a childhood friend. Kylie. But on his 8th birthday, she disappeared. Where'd she go? Now Pogue continues a tradition every year of skipping school on his b-day, but what happens when a new person transfers in looking like Kylie without red hair?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: DON'T OWN ANYTHING! Except for Kylie of course!**

Check out my fanvideo I made for the story! Beware, it has spoilers: hxxp :// youtube . com/watch?v=xpzBIGlT-TA remove the xs and spaces!

* * *

"_We're gonna be husband and wife, right?" The tiny redhead stared into his eyes as she waited for the answer. The brunette grinned and nodded._

_The brunette replied, "Of course! Who else would I marry?" The redhead's green eyes twinkled as she began rattling off her vision of the perfect wedding._

_They were sitting by his pond. The backyard of the brunette's home was beautiful, his mother having put every ounce of labor into the flowers that lined the house and the perfectly cut grass. It was her prized possession, and she refused to allow some gardener touch the plants._

"_Pogue? Pogue?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Are you excited for your birthday? I can't wait to show you your present!" The redhead had spent all yesterday picking out the perfect present for the young man, and when she'd finally found it, she couldn't help but want to tell him what it was._

_But it was a secret, and he couldn't know the secret until his birthday next week._

_Pogue nodded. Of course he was excited. His father had told him that there would be a secret revealed on this birthday, and he couldn't wait for the secret to be told. Something told him that it was going to be life changing._

_Pogue asked the redhead, "What about you, Kylie? Any hints on my birthday present?"_

_She grinned. No way would she spoil it for him. "Nope, I'm not saying anything!" Pogue pouted. It was no fair, he thought. He'd given her a hint for her birthday present, so why couldn't he have one? It was almost like she'd read his mind. She replied, "If I give a hint, then it'll give it away!"_

_Pogue still sulked as he looked at the pond in front of him. He laughed as a goose flew away just as fast as it landed. Moments of silence gathered as the two sat back and watched the scenery. Finally, Pogue sighed and said, "Fine, I will wait for the gift. Just don't be late for the party, I'm opening yours first!"_

_Kylie nodded. "I wouldn't miss it for the world!"_

_Only when his birthday rolled around, and the party was in full swing, she never showed._


	2. Too Much to Drink

Kate sighed. Today was Pogue's yearly skip day, as well as his birthday. As she woke up for the day, she remembered that he never showed up on his birthday. Not that she knew why. All anyone knew was that he wanted his birthday alone.

Kate had made it to first period for the first time without Sarah. Sarah had decided to wait for Caleb, which meant she got to spend today mostly alone, which was a good and bad thing for her.

Kate's slim build jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped and looked to see Sarah looking at her. She pointed to Kate's books that were at her seat, and Kate mumbled sorry and moved them.

"It's okay," Sarah replied. Her blond hair hung straight as she patiently waited for the professor to begin the lesson. Time passed and Kate stared off into space. It's what mostly happened on December fifth anyway. Kate was never sure of what Pogue did every year, but she had a sneaking suspicion that he got drunk on it… not that it wasn't unheard of. Lots of kids here got drunk—some more than others.

The professor came in before the bell rang and began the lesson right after the bell. Halfway through the lesson, Kate felt Sarah poking her arm.

Kate hissed, "What?" Today was not a good day to mess with the mocha colored girl. Today was the day that she had to go without her boyfriend and all the awkwardness from the other Sons. Something told her that they knew something she didn't, but she wasn't pressured to find out.

"Why isn't Pogue in class? Isn't today his birthday?" Sarah asked. Of course the transfer student would be the one to notice the absence.

Kate sighed dramatically. She replied, "He always skips on his birthday. It's been his skip day since before third grade."

Sarah raised an eyebrow. She asked, "Doesn't this seem a bit weird? I mean, I'd want to know what was wrong if Caleb missed the same day every year…"

Kate shrugged. "Well, Pogue's not like Caleb. There are some things about Pogue that he won't tell me, and this is one of them. Believe me, I've tried to get him to tell me why he skips it, but he never breaks down."

Sarah nodded. She knew what was up. It was his eighteenth birthday, so he was ascending tonight. But if that were it, then why did he skip _every_ year?

"Ladies!"

Kate and Sarah turned sharply to the professor.

"Yes?"

"Care to share your interesting conversation on the origin of the word blitzkrieg?" the professor asked. Kate looked a little lost as she racked her brain to remember where she'd heard the word before.

Sarah looked just the same.

Kids around them had their hands raised, but the professor refused to let them answer.

"Ladies, next time you decide that current news is better than Government, then please keep it to yourselves," the professor finally announced. Sarah looked confused.

"But, Professor, wasn't blitzkrieg a military move made by the Germans? Doesn't it mean lightning attack? What's that got to do with Government?" Sarah asked.

The kids around giggled a little. What a bad move Sarah had just made. No one was supposed to question Selvage when he got on a role about something other than Government. Rumor has it, the last kid who did, had to change schools because Selvage made his life a living hell.

Professor Selvage smirked. With his triple chins, it looked really gruesome, and Kate wished to never see it happen again. "Very good, Miss. Tunney. But, learn this, transfer; never try to correct my learning process."

Sarah gaped. "What the hell? I was just asking, and my name is _not_ Tunney!" Sarah hissed out. Only Kate caught the sentence, and she laughed. Professor Selvage had a habit of mixing up names, and Sarah had just caught the end of a misplaced identity.

By the end of the period, Kate and Sarah had been "caught" for whispering three more times. But two of the times it was people across the room, but they got blamed.

"God, Selvage is such a dick!"

"Sarah, I didn't know you had that kind of language! It's kinda hot." Reid then propped his arms around the two girls' shoulders and smirked as the kids moved to get out of the way. It paid to be a badass.

"Well, it _is_ true, Reid," Sarah replied. Sure she rarely used that type of language, but when used, everyone knew she meant business, though she'd only begun using the vulgar language more as she got to see more of the teachers' teaching side.

Suddenly the three heard a cough from behind them. Turning, they saw Caleb glaring at the blond badass. "Reid, move your arm, or you'll have two people chopping them off," he ground out. Sarah and Kate laughed at his possessiveness. But Caleb was only looking out for Pogue; he was more relaxed with Sarah—mainly because he knew she wouldn't do anything with Reid of all people.

Reid rolled his eyes and moved his arms off the girls. He knew Kate became more distant today, and he was only trying to cheer her up.

* * *

Pogue groaned. He'd passed out on his love sofa, with one of his legs propped up on the armrest. Today was the anniversary.

_Kylie_.

He rubbed a hand over his face before he pulled himself up. No sooner than sitting up did the room start to spin for him. He blinked a lot, trying to get rid of the black spots in his vision, and the hangover he had. Not that it mattered; he'd be drinking more as the day came to pass. Hell, maybe he wouldn't feel the momentary pain of the ascension happening later on.

However that fact was washed away by the pain that coursed through his head when his phone vibrated off the table. He held his head in one hand while he tried to grab the phone blindly with the other.

It was a text, he realized when he finally got to the phone.

_Don't drink into oblivion. 2moro I'll have med 4 u._

_--Caleb_

A drunken smirk grew on Pogue's face as he threw the phone behind him and onto the love sofa. He pulled himself up as he tried to stumble into the kitchen part of the apartment. The kitchen was where the booze was. Don't know why, he should have just kept it under the table in front of the love sofa.

Pogue had to stop and hold himself to the wall as the room spun out of control. He couldn't tell left from right, and up from down.

_Shit, I drank _way_ too much._


	3. She's Gone!

**Disclaimer: Don't own anyone but Kylie!**

_A/N: Thanks for the 6 reviews I've got already! I love them all!_

* * *

Kate was sitting with the others at a table in Nicky's while waiting for food to arrive with Caleb. She still had barely spoken to Sarah today, and Sarah had just recently given up on trying for the day.

"Kate?"

She jumped a little and saw Caleb staring at her oddly. He looked worried for her, but said nothing and sat her food down in front of her. She started picking at the fries, barely nibbling on them as she zoned out once more.

But just because she zoned out didn't mean she didn't hear the others around her.

She could hear Sarah ask Caleb, "Is she going to be alright? She looks like she's going to go suicidal in a few minutes."

Caleb looked over at Kate for a few minutes before turning back to Sarah. "She always acts like this on Pogue's birthday. She won't kill herself, just probably throw a fit in a few minutes and walk back to the dorms," he replied.

Kate's eye twitched as she heard Caleb's reply. Was she really that predictable? No way!

An hour had passed, and Kate could see all three of the sons looking at their watches. Her eyebrow rose as she at them all murmur something under their breaths.

What's going on?

All of a sudden she noticed they were all—including Sarah—heading for the door. Quickly, she grabbed her coat and followed closely behind them.

"We're just going to check to make sure he made it," she heard Caleb murmur. The two others nodded and headed for the Hummer.

Kate hid along a darkened wall as Sarah and Caleb said their goodbyes to one another.

"Make sure he's okay," Sarah murmured to Caleb before she pulled him into a kiss. As quickly as the kiss started it ended.

What the hell is going on?

* * *

"Pogue? Pogue!"

Pogue groaned at Caleb's yell as he tried to roll over on his back.

"Make it stop," he gasped out. Apparently the alcohol didn't help with the ascension. If anything, it made it worse.

Caleb wanted desperately to try to make the pain go away. It hurt him to see his brother in pain like that, but it had to happen. He'd went through the same pain, and the other two would as well. Luckily, they'd made it to see the end of Pogue's ascension—mainly thanks to Reid's ridiculous driving.

Tyler and Reid had decided on standing closer to the door. They knew they'd be next, but that didn't make it any less painful. And on top of the pain they saw with Pogue, this was their first time seeing someone ascend. Caleb had to ascend with Chase, and Pogue had been in the hospital. After seconds of Pogue's screaming, they heard someone banging on the door.

"Keep it down in there! Some of us are trying to sleep!"

Tyler yelled, "Sorry!" Reid glared at him briefly before turning back to see Pogue's screaming die down. He was gasping for breath as his ascension was coming to an end. The others quickly ran for their brother, hoping that the drinking hadn't killed him or severely hurt him during the ascension. When they all reached him, he was starting to sit up, but groaned and quickly laid back down.

Pogue groaned out, "Is it supposed to hurt this much, Caleb?" Slowly his eyes opened to Caleb, Tyler, and Reid hovering over him worriedly. "You all look like mother hens or something."

Reid and Tyler laughed at his attempt to joke, and Caleb playfully glared at Pogue.

"Right… We'd kill ourselves if we were your mother hen," Reid retorted. Pogue rolled his eyes and punched up at Reid. Of course he would be the one to ruin the moment of almost nonviolence.

Tyler rolled his eyes and held his hand down for Pogue to use to help get up. Quickly the second eldest was up and leaning against the wall that his head had barely missed when he'd passed out earlier.

While the others got up, Caleb stayed kneeling on the floor.

"Caleb, what's wrong, man?" Pogue looked at Caleb, waiting for him to get up.

Caleb asked, "Do you ever think about what Kate goes through on your birthday?"

Pogue's eyes widened. He replied, "I don't care, Caleb! She may be my girlfriend, but this is my day to grieve! You know this!"

"Yeah, but every year she gets distant on today, and it gets to me. You're not the only one who lost someone that day, Pogue. We lost our friend, too! But you're the only one who mopes around every year on **your** birthday missing her," Caleb said. His eyes were downcast as he pulled himself off the floor and turned towards Pogue.

"Come on, Caleb, now's not a good time for this," Tyler warned.

"No, Tyler, now's as good a time as any," Pogue replied for Caleb. His brown eyes were glaring at Caleb. "That girl was my life before she went missing! Hell, Caleb, you know as well as the others that we'd promised we were going to marry each other when we were older!"

"Oh come off it, Pogue! It wouldn't have lasted, and you know it!" Caleb finally pulled his eyes to see Pogue seeing red.

"How do you know, Caleb? How can you know that? You don't know that, so don't tell me you do," Pogue yelled. His heart was beating so loud in his chest that it was a wonder it wasn't bursting through the skin.

"Oh, come on, Pogue! There are a lot of things that could've happened had she still been here! But, doesn't Kate deserve the right to know that you mope around on your birthday for another **girl**? I'm sure she'd appreciate that," Caleb retorted.

For once, Reid realized, Caleb wasn't fighting with him, but with _Pogue_!

"Kate doesn't need to know about Kylie, Caleb! Hell, she never even knew Kylie! Don't forget, she moved here in the middle of third grade, after Kylie had disappeared," Pogue replied. He knew that they'd tried to replace Kylie with Kate, but it just didn't happen. It was never going to happen, and he refused to let it happen.

"Forget this, I'm going back to see Sarah before I decide to make you see your senses right," Caleb said calmly. He headed for the door. When he reached the door, he realized that he'd just fought with _Pogue_, and not Reid. As he turned the knob, he said, "Come on, Tyler and Reid or I'm leaving you here and hotwiring the Hummer."

The two quickly followed him to Tyler's car.

Pogue slid down the wall he'd almost hit his head on earlier as he thought over the fight. Minutes passed before, being as pissed off as he was, he threw his fist into the wall. He heard the cheap excuse of a wall crack, and he smirked at the thought.

_That'd be a nice addition to my birthday…_

* * *

Kate had gone back inside before Sarah realized she'd been listening to the conversation. She sat there and waited for the blond to come back in.

"Hey, you okay?" Kate's head snapped up to see Sarah looking at her oddly.

"Yeah, just thinking some things over," she replied.

Sarah smiled at her and sat beside her. Sarah could see Kate was getting distant and antsy over today. What for, Sarah was sure she'd probably have to figure it out herself.

"So the boys went to check to make sure Pogue's okay. They said they'd be back soon," Sarah said. No need to mention the whole ascension thing—Kate still didn't even know about them having powers.

Kate nodded and went back to nibbling at her food. She still couldn't help but think over the whole birthday and Pogue ordeal. It's just that it'd began bothering her more when they started dating, and it's getting to be too much for her now.

_Why won't he tell me why he misses every year?_


	4. Tory

**Disclaimer: Don't own anyone besides Tory and Kylie!**

_A/N: Love the reviews! Thank you everyone who's reviewed so far!_

* * *

Pogue groaned as the morning rays hit his face. He had a heavy hangover from the night before, and the sun was not helping. As his eyes finally opened, he took in the sight of his ceiling and thought over last night.

Out loud he mumbled, "God, did he really have to mention the facts on my birthday?"

Pogue took his time rising from the dead. Slowly, methodically, he got to his feet. He groaned once more as the pain hit his head again. It felt like a monkey was taking cymbals and crashing them into his head over and over again.

Definitely not a good feeling.

He stumbled into the kitchen in hopes of finding some Tylenol. _There goes any hopes of me not looking like a drunk today…_He finally reached the cabinet where he stored the Tylenol. Almost blindly, he shuffled around for the bottle.

Only there were no pills in the bottle.

Cursing, he threw the bottle across the room and went to the fridge. He opened the white door to find a half-full bottle of water. Sighing, he snatched it up and got a granola bar from the box sitting beside the fridge on the counter.

When he finally started getting ready for hell—I mean school—he realized he had ten minutes to make it halfway across town and to the school parking lot.

Cursing, he ran for his bike. Then he realized he'd forgotten his helmet, ran back inside, grabbed it, and ran back to his bike. Then he realized he'd forgotten his leather jacket. Cursing once more, he ran back inside and grabbed the damned thing that was going to make him late.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally got onto the road. He refused to look at the tower clock as he passed it, and he almost wanted to run through the dozens of stop signs. But it wouldn't do to get a ticket at the same time of being late to school!

Note the sarcasm.

Finally, the longhaired brunette made it to the school. And with one minute to run to his class that was on the third floor!

He groaned and got off his beauty. He started for the steps when he noticed someone exiting a car in the similar fashion he'd gotten off his bike.

Hurriedly. Anxiously.

He shook his head and ran up the stairs, knowing it would be fruitless to stop and mingle with someone. Even if his mind told him to go back and talk to them.

He was heading toward the elevator when he flew into the wall and lay sprawled on the floor. Groaning, he mumbled, "This is so not my day."

His eyes flew wide open when he heard something from across of him.

"As it's also so not my day either."

Slowly, Pogue sat up to take in the person he'd bumped into. The girl had black hair and he couldn't help but think she reminded him of Kylie.

_Kylie._

"Sorry 'bout that. I was on my way to class when ya bumped into me," she said and offered her manicured hand to him. Pogue stared at it a moment and then took the hand.

They waited for the elevator to open up. The bell had rung moments ago, and they decided it was best just to walk in late.

Moments of silence passed between the two. Finally Pogue asked, "Your accent… it sounds southern?"

The new girl laughed and nodded. "Well, it's a cleaned up version of the southern accent. My parents moved ta Georgia when I was a lil kid, and so I have a nicer tone ta the real southern accent."

Pogue's inside flopped a little. Of course. It wouldn't have been her. Kylie was gone, and he just needed to accept that.

"Where'd your parents move from?"

"New York. They tol' me all these stories of how crowded it was there, and how annoyin' it is to hear people here talk about snow when they don' really get snow," she replied. His heart sank even further. Of course. God just loved playing with him, didn't he?

The elevator finally opened, and the two hurried in. As Pogue pressed the button for the third floor, he realized he'd never asked the new girl for her name.

He coughed to get her attention. When she looked up at him, he noticed something weird in her eyes.

One moment they were bright green, and the next they turned brown.

He raised an eyebrow, but shook it off. _She probably just wears contacts._

Almost as if she read his mind, she said, "Sorry, I have ta wear contacts. I kinda hate glasses, so the only other thing ma parents could afford was contacts." Pogue nodded, but he couldn't help but notice something else.

Her eyes shifted, as if she didn't want him to see something, when she answered his thoughts.

A second later Pogue remembered what he was going to ask her. He cleared his throat and said, "I never caught your name."

The black-haired beauty blushed a little. He couldn't help but notice how cute she looked. _Almost like a little kid._ "Ma name is Tory."

Pogue smiled. "Well it's nice to be the first student at Spencer to welcome you. As the first student at Spencer to meet you, I must say, welcome to Spencer, Tory."

She laughed. "That was the most confusin' sentence I ever heard."

He smirked and asked, "How do you know it wasn't meant to be confusing?"

She raised an eyebrow and replied, "Well it worked if ya mean' ta be confusin'."

A second later the elevator dinged, and Pogue exited to go to Government. He turned after a few steps and saw Tory following.

"I'm sorry ta bother, but I don' know where ma first class is, so I was wonderin' if ya could show me?"

Pogue nodded. He didn't know why, but he felt like it was his duty to help this girl. He asked, "What class do you have?"

She shuffled around, feeling her pockets on her school blazer before finding the piece of paper.

"Hmm," she said. "Ummm, College Prep English?"

"That's right across from my homeroom. Come on, I'll show you," he replied. She smiled brightly at him and followed closely behind.

But one thing wouldn't leave his mind.

Why did she remind him so highly of Kylie?


	5. Assets

**Disclaimer: Don't own anyone besides Tory and Kylie!**

_A/N: Love the reviews! Thank you everyone who's reviewed so far!_

* * *

Lunch was happening all around Pogue. As he sat with his brothers, Sarah, and Kate, he couldn't help but gaze at the couple tables over and see Tory sitting with a group of girls. Vaguely he could remember those girls as being the ones who tried least with getting with the four. But, that was just his muddled mind, so what would he know?

"Pogue? Pogue!"

Shaking his head, he turned and noticed Kate glaring at him.

"What?"

"What do you mean 'what'? Hello, we've been trying to talk to you for the last five minutes, but you've been eyeing the new girl! What the hell is that about," Kate exclaimed. In anger, she flung her arms out, accidentally hitting his bottle of Pepsi.

"I—I," Pogue stuttered. He really had nothing to say, other than those stuttered words.

"You know what, forget this. Sarah, I'll see you later. And Pogue, don't bother calling me for a while," Kate said. She picked up her lunch tray and practically ran toward the place to put your trays back.

But Pogue didn't take notice to her dramatized event.

He went back to eyeing Tory as soon as Kate left the table. And he wasn't even sure why he was staring at her the way she was!

_Because it's Kylie in your mind._

Mentally, Pogue cursed his intelligent mind and stood up after Tory had. He followed close behind her, and emptied every bit of food into the garbage, all of it untouched. As she was turning around, she bumped into him and it caused her to look up.

"Oh! Pogue, sorry 'bout that. I should watch where I'm goin'," Tory said. She smiled a little at Pogue before she walked toward her table to grab her bag. He continued eyeing her until she left the cafeteria.

Man, he seriously missed Kylie.

* * *

School had ended hours ago, and Pogue was doing what he normally did.

Work on his bike.

But today he had a helper. It seemed that Sarah had convinced Caleb to try talking some "sense" into Pogue about his actions. What the hell did he do wrong? It's not like he was fucking the girl and got caught!

_Because Kate's through with your bullshit after years of it._

Once again, Pogue cursed his mind for stating the truth that he refused to believe. Sure he **knew** his mind was right, but he didn't want to **know** it was right.

"Seriously man, you've got to get over Kylie! It's coming down to you choosing your girlfriend or your childhood crush, and if you don't choose then you won't get a choice."

Pogue groaned as he wiped sweat from his forehead. This talk was getting tiring, and he was about to yell and say things to his "brother" that he didn't really mean. As he continued working on his bike, he let his mind wander back to his new obsession.

Tory.

"…Are you listening to me, Pogue?"

Pogue pulled up. His head hit his bike as he rose up. Groaning, he held his head and shook his head.

"Pogue," Caleb ground out, "I'm done trying to convince you to get over Kylie. IF you don't tell Kate why you're always distant this time of year, I will." After, Caleb up and left the garage.

Still holding his head, Pogue stumbled to a clean rag—luckily it was—to wipe sweat from him and excess oil off his hands and face. His mind ran rabid as he went over Caleb's words. Cursing, he threw the rag and walked over to his bike. Luckily, before Caleb had his last words thrown in, Pogue had managed to fix the problem he'd set out to do.

One thing was certain in Pogue's mind, though, he was **not** going to tell Kate about Kylie. Ever, if he ever had his way about it.

Of course, when Caleb set his mind to something, he normally never backed down. For example, when _Chase_—Pogue shivered at the name—had sent a message to Caleb. Pogue had tried to get him to stay away from that damned addicted bastard, but it didn't work.

Now that Pogue thought about it, half the—all—the times he's tried to get Caleb to stop from going through with something was a failure. Suddenly his thoughts jumbled with a knock on a wall. His head snapped to see _her._

The sunlight was hitting her just right. All he saw was Kylie.

But it was Tory.

"I didn' know you worked here," Tory said. She walked in and looked around the place curiously. Pogue couldn't help but notice the way the sunlight hit her black hair just right.

"Well, not really work as they let me use their parts for my bike sometimes. Benefits of being one of the avid bike lovers in Ipswich, I guess," Pogue replied.

She smiled at him; her dimples making his stomach feel fluttery. _God, you girl! You're not supposed to have these feelings!_

"People at ma ol' school were more Harley riders, but this is a Ducati, righ'?"

Pogue nodded and looked her up and down, noticing her curves for the first time. An almost perfect hourglass figure made him wander if she was a model back at home. Then he came to the one part that had him falling to his knees. They were just right, not too big and by no means too small.

Tory finally piped up and asked, "Are ya done starin' at ma assets?" The question made him jerk his head up to her smirking at him. "Hey, I got no shame in ma body. After all, it is ma body so I embrace it."

_You have a girlfriend._

Pogue ran a hand through his dark locks and replied, "Hey, there's nothing wrong with that." She laughed and walked over to his bike. He couldn't help but stare at the way her hips swayed.

As she checked out the bike, and giving Pogue a good look at her, she asked, "So what's this Nicky's I keep hearin' about? People keep askin' if I'm gonna be there, so I thought you might know."

"Yeah, it's this hangout place that all the kids at Spencer go to. You can do a lot there, and it's hilarious to watch all the gambling that goes on under his nose," Pogue replied. Tory laughed and smiled at him.

"So… think ya coul' show me where it is?"

Pogue nodded absentmindedly, not even thinking about one little fact.

How the hell was he going to walk into the place with Tory when he knew Kate would be there?


	6. FUCK!

**A/N: **Sorry it took so long for this chapter! But here it is :)

* * *

It was simple: he didn't. When Pogue pulled into Nicky's, he turned to Tory, who had followed him with her car.

"Go on in, I'll be in in a minute."

Nodding, she headed in. After the door closed to the bar, Pogue sighed and looked at the darkening sky.

"Why the hell did she follow you?"

He turned sharply and saw Kate leaning on a side wall of the establishment.

"N—no reason," Pogue replied.

"Really? Because you sound like a little boy who just got caught with their hand in the cookie jar."

Pogue sighed. "She showed up at the garage and when she saw me, asked me to show her where Nicky's was. That's all."

_And you checked out her rack._

Kate sighed and started walking toward him. When she reached him, she placed her hand on his chest. "I'm worried about you."

"I know, Caleb's been telling me how I need to treat you better."

Kate laughed. "Of course, the leader has to tell his followers how to treat someone… But he is right…"

"I know… Look, it's just that on my birthday a long time ago, something happened that I just can't get over just yet," he said after a moment of silence.

Kate breathed deeply. "I understand. You need your space sometimes, and I get that, I do. But, everyone at school avoids me on your birthday and I never have known why… I guess I do now, though."

"You wanna go inside?"

Kate smirked and looked up at Pogue seductively. "I was thinking a ride on the bike might calm me over."

"And then a stop at my apartment," Pogue followed, smirking back at her.

"Knew you'd understand," Kate exclaimed.

* * *

"Where's Pogue?" Caleb was missing his foosball partner, and he was worried. He'd seen Kate walk out, then moments later Tory walked in. What the hell was going on?

"Do you really have to ask?" Caleb turned to see Sarah smirking at him. It took him a minute before he realized.

Caleb exclaimed, "Oh! So… wanna play foosball?"

She chuckled and replied, "Thought you'd never ask." Laughing, he jumped up and ran with her to a foosball table. With her on one side and him on the other, they began a battle.

As they battled each other, Tory stood in a corner. Her thoughts were milling, but the main thought was, _'Why do I remember him so well?'_

* * *

"Looks like Parry's getting laid," Reid muttered.

"Why do you sound so pissed about that?"

Reid pulled up from bending over the pool table. He looked at Tyler and replied, "Because, he's been ignoring the bitch for days, then this new girl shows up and he only has eyes for her? What the hell? He can get laid and I can't even get the new girl to look at me?"

"You know Kate's the one who's sleeping with Pogue, not Tory, right?"

Reid glared at Tyler menacingly. "Yes, you pussy! That's not the point! The point is, this new girl is smoking hot and she won't look at _me_!"

Tyler replied, "So? Almost every other girl looks at us! You sound like a spoiled child…"

Reid huffed and sulked. He exclaimed, "That's why I'm so pissed you dumb ass! She's the only girl hot in my standards and she won't even _look_ at me!"

"Whatever," Tyler murmured. He leaned over the table to hit the eight ball for the win in pool.

Reid cursed under his breath when Tyler won. In his mind, though, was a different thought process.

'_Something's off with Tory… I don't know what it is, but damn is she hot!'_

* * *

Pogue collapsed to the side of Kate, exhausted after another round of making up.

"So, are you going to tell me why you've been distant lately?"

Pogue groaned. _'Not this again.'_ "Kate, nothing happened with her. I told you. Seriously, just let it go."

Kate shifted to look at him. She raised an eyebrow and replied, "I didn't say anything about Tory."

Pogue thought, _'Oh shit.'_

"Look. It's a personal problem, okay? I just need some time."

Kate exclaimed, "Time? Time! _It's a personal problem._ What the hell, Pogue? We're dating; you're supposed to be able to tell me these things so we can suffer together!"

Pogue groaned, rubbed his head and sat up in his bed. He sighed and replied calmly, "Look, maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

"Not such a good idea? Pogue, what're you saying?"

He turned to her. The sheet was still wrapped tightly over her hazel body.

"Pogue?"

He finally got the courage and replied, "We've been fighting so much recently. Maybe we need a break."

"You're breaking up with me?" Kate looked confused. She looked hurt. But most of all, she looked like she was about to punch someone's nose in.

Pogue opened his mouth a couple of times before finally getting out, "Temporarily."

Kate's face flushed red, her eyes turned bloodshot, and her hand rose from the sheet. Immediately it made contact with Pogue's face. He groaned as the force knocked him to the floor.

"You are such an ass! How dare you **fuck** me and then tell me you don't want me anymore!"

"That's not it at all," Pogue replied. He rose from the side of the bed holding his cheek. "I just think we need a break. We're always fighting, and even after we had sex you want to interrogate me about what goes on around my birthday."

"Yeah, maybe we should talk about your birthday," Kate yelled. "Let's talk about the face that I had to learn about your family's history through a book that Sarah leant me!"

'_Oh, shit.'_

"Look—"

Kate asked softly, "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I wanted to, but Covenant laws tell us not to."

"See, that's another lie! I know you guys don't have powers. There's no way you can," Kate yelled. _'Oh, thank God!'_

Pogue chuckled, "You're right. That book was made by a family member as a reason why we came here."

"Fine. We'll take a break. But _don't_," she spit out, "come back to me. Ever!"


End file.
